The Hopeless End of a Great Dream at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios

The Hopeless End of a Great Dream is a new film commission by Declan Clarke, coming to Temple Bar Gallery + Studios this April.

Temple Bar Gallery + Studios is pleased to present a significant new feature length film commission by Irish artist Declan Clarke. Entitled ‘The Hopeless End of a Great Dream’, the 16mm film work has been co-commissioned by TBG+S, Belfast Exposed, Centre Cultural Irlandais Paris and Trinity Creative.

According to the organisers, “The film was shot entirely on the grounds of Trinity College Dublin, using the diversity of architecture within Trinity’s walls as a backdrop and metaphor for the last 100 years of Irish history. Taking a number of overlooked episodes in Irish history as its starting point, the film works along a fragmented narrative which sees unexplained actions taking place in academic and historical surroundings. Clarke grounds these episodes in the political present, so that they function as commentaries on the causes, effects, and ongoing ramifications of the past on the current political climate. Visually and thematically referencing the tropes of post war European cinema, Clarke blurs real and fictional stories to create film with a complex palimpsest of narrative development, compelling characters and mysterious events”.

There will be a public screening of the film in advance of the launch of the exhibition at 7pm on Wednesday, 20th April, in the Edmund Burke Theatre (Arts Block), TCD. Admission is free but tickets must be pre-booked. Tea and coffee available beforehand.

The exhibition launches at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios at 6pm on 21st April and continues until 18th June, 2016. It will then go on to be exhibited in Belfast Exposed in May and at the Centre Culturel Irlandaise in Paris this September.

The project received additional support from the Arts Council project award 2016.